Things I Miss!

  This past weekend, I spent a lot of time by myself and whenever I am by myself, I start doing a lot thinking. (Melissa has taken a job as the second shooter for a local photographer and was at a wedding working from 1:00 pm till about 11:00 pm.) So, on Saturday, I mowed our lawn and worked in the yard for most of the day. (If you were wondering, Jack and Lady didn't raise one paw to offer any help or tell me it looked good!) The past several months have been very busy around our house and I haven't had the time to really clean things up and make the yard look as nice as it can. I have had just enough time to mow and sweep. Anyway, as I was mowing, I started thinking about so many things that just aren't around today or just things that I miss and thought I'd share them with you. Here are a few:

1. I miss Dave Thomas. Wendy's just isn't the same. The commercials aren't funny. The "Where's the Beef" ladies are gone. The hamburgers are still square, but I just can't bring myself to eat one because I don't have Dave Thomas telling me they are square because he hates cutting corners. I just don't know if that is their business model anymore. I just don't know what to think about Wendy's. I don't want a revamped menu, healthier options, or sea salt on my fries. I want Dave Thomas, funny commercials, the redhead with braces, and the Super bar.


2. This may sound odd, but I miss anger on the radio.Well, for that matter, I miss good radio. What I'm trying to say is that I miss Avril Lavigne singing about complicated things and sk8ter boys. I miss Kelly Clarkson screaming "Since You've Been Gone". I miss Emimem cleaning out his closet. I miss the Gallagher brother fighting on stage, in the songs, in the news. I miss Garth smashing guitars. I miss Toby  K. telling everyone just where they can stick it if they fight with the old US of A. I miss all of it. Things are too poppy. Too civil. I just would have to look away if Bieber were to get angry. I would just have to laugh if Owl City or Jack Johnson would go off and pitch a tantrum. It would just seem too fake.


3. I miss good acting/actors. Now Mel and I don't get to the movies very often, but we do have the Netflix. I just don't see acting like I did when I was younger or in the older movies. The Rock isn't a substitute for Robert Redford. Jake Gyllenhall is not a substitute for Tom Hanks. Shia Lebeouf is not a susbtitute for Harrison Ford. Hugh Jackman is not a substitute for Brando. Orlando Bloom does not make up for Robert Duvall. I could name many more names, but Justin Timberlake only acts like you think he would and gets nominated for an Oscar. The guy in, "The Social Network" is a weird, neurotic guy in real life and he played one in the movie. Compare him to Anthony Hopkins. Can you? And please don't get me talking about Johnny Depp. The first couple of "Pirates" movies were okay, but do we need a fifth or sixth one? See what I mean? The closest my poor students get to good acting was to see Colin Frith and Geoffrey Rush in, "The King's Speech", and most didn't see it. They were busy waiting in line to see Sean William Scott in, "Bulletproof Monk".


4. I miss the days before everything was bad for you and caused cancer. I am not the most health conscious guy, but I am also not the 900 lb. guy stuck in his house, but I feel like life was so much better when I was oblivious to all the things in life that were trying to kill me. You know, the days before you found out that even an MRI can give you cancer along with kiwi seeds, gatorade, my cell phone, alumninum foil, artificial sweetner, freon, yellow #5, and a million other things. I miss the days when I didn't know how many people died of car wrecks or the flu last year in Georgia. I miss the days when they didn't have animated pictures of my car rolling over and the people dying that were in it above my head on the left visor as as constant reminder that I could die before I got home.


5. I miss the athletes of my youth. It seemed they were more authentic or something else that I can't explain. Michael Jordan was a basketball player. Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman were golfers. Dave Mattingly, Cal Ripkin Jr., and Nolan Ryan were real baseball players. Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Bruce Smith were real football players. Carl Lewis, Frank Shorter, and Steve Prefontanie were real runners. They invented the things we see copied today. They played the sport how it was suppose to be played. They didn't hold out or lock out for more money. Some did it for free because they were amateurs. They played the game like it was a job; a job they loved. They played like every game was the championship.

These are just a few of the things I miss. What do you miss?

  David